Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-11-05

aud pierced Inc through and throxgl
with their beauty, and sent her light Mtgl
ringing through the air like chimes Of Sill
YER bells.
A new mood was on her, and the very
color of her mind seemed to change beneath
It. 1t was no longer torture, torn and
hateful. as | had seen ii vnen she was
cursing her dead rival ~ the leaping
flames, no longer Jelly t~,ifrible, as in the
Judgment hall, no LONGER rich and somber
and splendid, like a,.Iyrian cloth, as in the
dwellings Of the dead. No; her mood now
was that OF AphSodite triumphing. Life
radiant, ecstatic, wonderful-seemed to
flow from he: and around her. Softly she
laughed ar sighed, and swift her glances
flew. She shook her heavy ~tresses, and
their perfume filed the place; she struck
her LITTLE sandaled foot upon the floor, and
hupSsned a snatch Of some old Greek epith-
alslnium. All the majesty was gone, or
nd but Turk and family flicker through her
Laughing eyes, like lightning seen through
sunlight. She had cast Off the terror OF
the leaping flame, the cold power Of judg-
ment that was even now being done, and
the wise sadness of the tombs-cast them
off and put them behind her, like the white
shroud she wore, and now stood out the
incarnation OF lovely, tempting woman
hood, made more perfect-and in a way
more ~spiritual-than ever woman was be-
fore.
There, my Holly, sit there where thou
canst see me. 1t is by thine own wish, re-
member; again / say, blame me Motif thou
dost spend the rest of thy little span with
such a sick pain ut the heart that thou
wouldst fain have died before ever thy
curious eyes were set upon me. There, siI
so, and tell me, tor in truth / am inclined
for praises-tell me, am l not beautiful
Nay, speak not SO hastily; consider wei
the point; take me feature by feature, for
getting not my form, and my hands and
feet, and my hair, and the whiteness of
my skin, and then tell me truly hast thou
ever known a IN who in aught, ay, in
one little portion of her beauty, in the
curve Of an eyelash even, or the modelling
Of a shell-like ear, is justified to hold q
light before my loneliness? Now, my
waist! Perchance thou thinkest it too
large, but of a truth it is not so; it is this
golden snake that is too large, and doth
not bind ii as it should. 1t is n wise snake
and knoweth that it is i'll to tie the waist.
But see, give me thy hands-so-now press
them round me, there, with but a little
force, thy fingers touch, oh, Holly!"
could stand it no longer. l am but q
man, and she was more than u woman.
Heaven knows what she was-I don't!
But then and there l fell upon my knees
before her, and told her in a sad mixture
of languages--for such moments confuse
the thoughts-that | worshiped her as
never woman was worshiped, and that l
would give my immortal soul to marry
her-which at that time i certainly would
have done, n SO, indeed, would any other
man, or all the race of men rolled int one.
For a moment she looked a little surprised,
and then she began to laugh, and clap her
hands in glee.
"Oh, so soon, oh, Holly" she said. 81
wondered how many minutes it would take
to bring thee tothy knees. | have not seen
a man kneel before me for so many days,
ard, believe me, to a woman's heart the
days take not from that dear pleasure,
which is our sex's only right"
What wouldst thou?-what wouldst
thous Thou dost not know what thou
doest. Have | not told thee that / am not
for thee? l love but one, and it is not thee
All, Holly, for all thy wisdom-and in Q
way thou art wise-thou art but a fool run
ming after folly. Thou wouldst look into
mine eyes; thou wouldst kiss me. Well, il
it pleaseth thee, look" and she bent her.
self toward me, and fixed her dark and
thrilling orbs upon my own; lay, and kiss,
too, if thou wilt, for thanks be given to the
scheme of things, kisses leave no marks,
except upon the heart. But il thou dost
kiss, l tell thee of q surety wilt thou eat out
thy heart with love of me, and die" and
she bent yet further toward me, till her
soft hair brushed my brow, n her fragrant
breath played upon my face, and made me
faint and weak. Then of a sudden, even
as / stretched my arms to clasp, she
Strengthened herself, and a quick change
passed over her. Reaching out her hand,
she held it over my head, and it seemed to
me that something flowed from it that
chilled me back to common-Sense and a
knowledge of propriety and the domestic
virtues.
Enough of this wanton play" she said,
with a touch Of %sternness. Listen, Holly.
Thou art a good and honest man, and I
fain would spare thee, but, oh. il is so hard
lOT u NOIluu ~ Dc IleTCllul. l. HAVE Sdlu
/ am not for thee, therefore let thy thoughts
pass by me like an idle wind, and the dust
of thy imagination sink again into the
depths-well, of despair, if thou wilt.
Thou dost not know me, Holly. Hadst thou
seen me but ten hours ago, when my pas
sion seized me, thou hadst shrunk from
me in fear and trembling. l am a woman
of many moods, and, like the water in that
vessel, / reflect many things; but they pass
my Holly-they pass, n are forgotten.
Only the water is the water still, and Istill
am /, and that which maketh the water
maketh it, and that which maketh me
maketh me, nor can my quality be altered.
Therefore pay no heed to what / seem, see
ing that thou canst not know what l am.
If thou troublest me again | will veil my
self, and hot shalt behold my face no
more.o
rose, and san on the cushioned couch
beside her, yet ~quivering with emotion,
though for a moment my mad passion had
left me, as the leaves of a tree culver still,
although the gust be gone that stirred
them. did not dare to tell her that had
seen her in that deep and helllsh mood
muttering lamentations to the fire in the
tomb.
$50" she went on, "now eat some fruit;
believe me, it is the only true food for man.
Oh, tell me Of the philosophy of the He
brew Messiah, who came after me, and
who thou sayest doth now rule Rome and